Bartonella

My vet asked me last time if she should test my cat for bartonella just to rule it out. I never thought to test her again because she is a 9year old indoor cat. She was tested as a kitten too. She never shows signs of it so I'm really surprised that she tested positive for it now! Have any of your cats tested positive? I'm going to start her on a 28 day treatment tomorrow. Sigh does anyone know if there's a link between bartonella and kidney issues?

I'm not sure what you mean... the vet tested and did find bartonella?  About 20% of US cats are carriers and it seems to be the bacteria responsible for Cat Scatch Disease.

Did you see this info?:  http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/uploads/file/catownerbrochure.pdf

It even gives a map of the prevelence of the disease in the US

I have no idea about whether it affects kidneys, sorry.

Our cat tested positive, but is healthy.

We decided not to put her through a month of pilling.  After researching, I discovered that unless you have members in your home that have compromised immune systems (i.e. such as cancer/AIDS) or the very young or elderly, it probably isn't necessary to treat a well cat.  Especially if that cat, never bites/scratches (ours is ridiculously docile).  I also found out that the treatment doesn't even eradicate the disease in many cases.  

We will always keep alert for illness in her, and now that we know she carries it, that will be something to bring up again at the appropriate time.  But for now, not going to worry about it.   

However, Bartonella can make a cat quite ill if it takes hold and, if you get bitten, it can be passed to you - but not in all cases.  It isn't deadly to humans, but certainly not pleasant and requires a long round of antibiotics also if that happens.  

BTW, I don't remember reading anything about kidney issues at all with this illness.  I do know it can cause problems with the gums/teeth if I remember correctly.  

In the end, I guess it all depends on how you feel about preventative care and what you consider excessive.  

Here's a little more reading on it:  http://www.marvistavet.com/html/bartonella.html, but I don't see anything about possible kidney damage, only possible gum issues.

Thank you all so much for the responses. Sivyaleah, our cat has never really shown signs of it although a few years ago she suffered from these little bubbles on her outer lip but they were cured with medication and switching her plastic bowls out for metal and glass. She is a very aggressive cat, we have been bitten badly and scratched all throughout the years so Im not sure if we have ever been in contact with the disease. We are very health conscious and fitness freaks who rarely ever get sick so maybe our immune systems didnt allow the infection to get us lol. I gave her a dose of Baytril today that I dissolved in a syringe and shot into her mouth and right now she just violently threw up (it looked painful) This is hours later but from what Ive ready Baytril can cause this and now I dont want to give her anymore. I hate doing all of this to her. My husband says he wants her cured. From what Ive read there havent been enough studies on Bartonella to rule out its affect on kidneys or other things. So I dont really know what to do anymore. For the past few months Ive been taking her to vets offices, testing her, changing her foods, giving her fluids. I just feel so bad for her maybe Im stressing her out more than any of these "problems" are. Now I need to decide if I want to try a new medication for the Bartonella.

Mani said:

I'm not sure what you mean... the vet tested and did find bartonella?  About 20% of US cats are carriers and it seems to be the bacteria responsible for Cat Scatch Disease.

Did you see this info?:  http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/uploads/file/catownerbrochure.pdf

It even gives a map of the prevelence of the disease in the US

I have no idea about whether it affects kidneys, sorry.

Click to expand...

Yes she wanted to test her for it since we were already testing for a bunch of other things. Shes been having health issues the past few months. Thanks for the info!

I found this article that says on a microscopic level it can attack the liver spleen kidneys and heart http://www.2ndchance.info/catscratch.htm

For sure, if the cat is having health issues, combined with being somewhat aggressive at times, treating is a good idea.  If ours became ill, it would be the first thing we would look into now, and we'd treat her most especially if she started using her teeth or claws on us.  As it is, she doesn't even use them playing with out other cat.

It will be interesting to hear from you as this progresses, as I don't think many have had much experience with this disease.  I'll be waiting to hear if the treatment eradicates it for her.

Best of luck! 

I have a cat named Bootsie who has chronic diarrhea. When I brought him in he had it so I  assumed it was worms or coccidia. It was over a year and he still has it. There were no worms or coccida present in his stool. I had it checked 2 times at one vet and once through my vet and she sent it out to be tested. All negative. My vet said it must be Bartonella so we had him checked for it and it came back very high for it. He was put on antibiotics for 21 days (Baytril) 3 times. He still has the runny stool. I have tried everything from rice, probiotics, prebiotics, immodium, Metronidazole, grain free food and I am running out of ideas.  The vet said he may have this for the rest of his life. Does anyone have any suggestions as to something that may work for him? I am lost.

Interesting. I'll be asking my vet this weekend for my diarrhea kitty to test for this. Hes had upper resp issues before i adopted him.

My vet said it either manifests itself in the respiratory or in the intestines. Bootsie has it in his intestines. What a mess. He is in the crates but, I would like to let him out a bit but, he is hard to catch then. He is a feral. When he poops its liquid and it squirts all over the litter box. Poor cat. I have run out of options for him. Nothing helps. I was hoping maybe someone on here may have had the same problem and could help with some ideas.  

Has she had any fleas recently or ever? I just took my cat to the vet a week ago and he determined she had hemobartnella. Didnt do a blood test, just went off her symptoms and a hunch, but he gave us doxycycline and shes doing much better. He said its transferred through fleas and once they have it they are carriers for life and will just have flare ups. It really sucks to hear so i know your pain i hope yours is doing better!

He had 3 rounds of Baytril.  He is still somewhat feral so I have trouble medicating him. But, 63 days worth of chewable Baytril should have knocked the Bartonella into the next planet. He just has the chronic diarrhea and its bad. Nothing worked so far. He came in from outside with it. I do have all of my cats treated for fleas. They are all inside now. I just can't believe there is no relief for him.